Zin Desert

The Wilderness of Zin or the Desert of Zin (Hebrew: מדבר צין‎, Midbar Tzin) is a geographic area mentioned by the Torah as containing Kadesh-Barnea within it;[1] and it is therefore also referred to as the "Wilderness of Kadesh".[2] Most scholars, as well as traditional sources, consequently identify this wilderness as being part of the Arabah.[3]

The Wilderness is in the south

Similarly named is the Wilderness of Sin. Modern English translations make a distinction; but it is not easily evident from the Septuagint and the Vulgate that, apart from a couple of instances,[4] render both Hebrew ṣīn and sîn as "Sin". The "Wilderness of Sin" is mentioned by the Bible as being adjacent to Mount Sinai; some consider Sinai to refer to al-Madhbah at Petra, adjacent to the central Arabah, and it is thus eminently possible that the "Wilderness of Sin" and the "Wilderness of Zin" are the same place.

It was this region that the British Arabist and adventurer T. E. Lawrence was exploring in a military survey for the British army when he was drafted into service. His expedition, funded by the Palestine Exploration Fund, included a survey of the entire Negev Desert.

References
  1. e.g. Numbers 27:14; Numbers 33:36
  2. Psalms 29:8
  3. Cheyne and Black, Encyclopedia Biblica 1899
  4. Numbers 34:4 (Septuagint: Senna, Vulgate: Senna), Joshua 15:3 (Septuagint: Senna, Vulgate: Sina)

Bibliography
  • Woolley, C. Leonard and Lawrence, T. E., The Wilderness of Zin. Rev. 3rd ed. (Winona Lake, Eisenbrauns, in association with Stacey International, London, 2003).

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